Humanity Tag

Belief, Family, Growing Up, Love, Mindfulness / 27.07.2021

My husband’s reflection, soft and nurturing, guided one of our sons in the process of tying a tie. “Will it be a full Windsor or half-Windsor knot?” crooned Damon. Of course, he knew how to jazz up ties. This guy, who as a child was given the task of folding napkins into pieces of art for Cousins Bunny and Hal’s Passover Seder. This guy, who learned what Bunny explained, a fairly simple yet elegant fold, and taught himself dozens of others from a Bird of Paradise to geometric patterns of napkin pageantry, which parlayed perfectly into an Origami hobby because…why...

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Humanity, Racial Justice / 04.06.2020

The image of Mr. George Floyd, face down on cement, handcuffed, with an officer’s knee cutting off circulation, calmly expressing his emotions and struggles while police look on has become a rallying cry for the oppressed, unheard and unseen. It’s my cry. I am not black, but I know what it feels like to not be seen, heard, loved, and valued. My oppression came at the hands of family, specifically my parents, not the police state. It came from the stories of societal expectations, cultural norms, faith-based learning, and the training of should-dos. “Dad and I are attending a vigil for...

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Love, Mindfulness, Self Love / 16.03.2020

Sister Sledge belted out “We Are Family” as the five of us cruised towards our local Pieology. It was Saturday, March 14th, pi day and the restaurant chain had a special: buy one pizza at regular price and get one for $3.14. Our fridge and pantry were fairly empty because at 4 am we were scheduled to depart for Maui visiting the Hawaiian Islands, for the first time, as an early graduation gift for our twin sons. They had requested this trip as freshmen so it was a few years in the making. The Universe had other plans called COVID-19. Dusk is...

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Belief, Circus, Love, Religion, Uncategorized / 18.05.2019

You would have to ask Umme when I completed the Quran…the first time. Then came the second learning and recitation. What I can share is that it was before I was 10 years old. An ancient language, the last monotheistic religion brought to humans by the Prophet Muhammad, encoded in my DNA for hundreds if not thousands of years, since our family is directly descended from the Prophet himself (or that’s what the family tree reads that Puppa has), and I did not understand a word of it. Not a single word. The warmth of the day was in contrast to...

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Belief, Love, Religion / 01.11.2018

I remember the day I could string together letters, making the sounds of each character, and read. I remember pumping my scrawny, brown legs faster and faster and faster until I swung high into the air, flying all the way up to the sky, on a swing. I remember falling off a bike countless times, until the moment where my body balanced, and I pedaled up and down the block. And I also remember the moment where Daadi, my beloved grandmother – compassionate, strong, wise, all-knowing – tried to teach me her anti-Semitic ways. I think Mr. Hinkleman was Jewish; I...

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Family, Humanity, Love / 12.04.2018

Fairly early last Sunday night, before heading off to bed, I had requested Damon be on the look out for a tired, crampy, menstruating Samita huddled in a cocoon-like shape in bed in the morning. “If I’m still in bed at 6:45, could you be so kind and take the boys to school?” I asked, knowing that on the rare occasion I’m asking for assistance, Damon will say yes. It’s always polite to ask even after (especially after) almost a quarter century into a relationship. “No problem,” Damon replied. “You rest.” The house phone was ringing and ringing and ringing. Leia answered. My...

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Belief, Humanity, Love / 27.12.2017

His name was Benny or at least that’s what the stitching on his work shirt read. I don’t know her name. I guess I could ask my neighbor, but I relish the fact that we were total strangers, never having met before, and possibly never meeting again. As one of the few stay-at-home/work-from-home parents, I have the honor of not only retrieving my children after school but the children of two dear friends - five teenagers in all. Snack time is a must when “my kiddos” come home: fruit, veggies and dip, a sweet treat, chips and dip, fresh baked banana...

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Humanity, Politics, Religion / 02.08.2016

Immigrating has never been an easy journey. As an immigrant from Pakistan, in the fall of 1979, where my family was comfortable in their surroundings to the harsh, bleak winter of Chicago was an extreme change. Besides the weather, there was the language, environment, norms, holidays, and so much more to adjust to. But the most fascinating were all the different people. In Pakistan we lived in a homogenous neighborhood, but in Chicago my six-year-old self delighted in the variety of human variations. There was an Italian family a few houses down the street who gave me my first taste of...

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Humanity / 10.02.2016

The kindest, most genuine man I’ve ever known carried a gun. My Daada (paternal grandfather) was born in India, sometime around December 1918. Record keeping was of no importance when the family elders documented everything in an oral history, sharing stories at multi-generational family gatherings, and offering up morsels to the younger generation to carry away and savor. Daada always had to work harder, prove himself worthy, be the best in sportsmanship, scholastics, and citizenship because the color of his skin- brown. Even though the Indian population was much larger and more diverse than the Whites ruling them, it was a...

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Humanity / 02.12.2015

In my naïve nature, I thought terrorists only targeted big cities- your NYC, Paris, and Londons of the world. San Bernardino and Redlands are dots on a world map where our only reference point is in relation to Los Angeles, so why would anyone want to bother us, make a point of hurting scores of people in a Regional Center whose main directive is to assist and help others? That changed today. The world knew where we were, even if for a moment. The world knew that San Bernardino is the largest county in the United States with a...

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